Willian joined the Gunners in 2020 after spending seven years at Chelsea. The Brazilian was one of Mikel Arteta’s first signings after Arsenal won the FA Cup.
The winger joined as a free agent but only last a year at the Emirates, and did not make more than 30 appearances for the Gunners before he left the club by mutual consent and joined Corinthians in Brazil.
Willian managed just one goal in 37 appearances, and left the Gunners despite initially signing a three-year deal with the club.
Mikel Arteta eventually admitted that the Willian deal did not go as expected:
What Willian said about his time at Arsenal
Willian sat down with Rio Ferdinand for an interview on the Five YouTube channel. The former Chelsea player admitted that he did not enjoy playing under Mikel Arteta.
When asked about his time at the club, the Brazilian had this to say : “I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t happy. That’s why I didn’t perform. I don’t want to go into the details.
“When I arrived there I was happy, from the beginning I was motivated, I wanted to do well – new club, new mates, new project. But after three months, I said to my agent: ‘Please, I want to go’. I don’t want to speak bad about the club, because it is a big club. Arsenal has a big history.
“In football, big players played there before as well. But it didn’t work, it didn’t work. It was, of course, the most difficult time of my career.”
Money was not enough to keep star happy
The Brazilian then admitted that he had a lucrative contract at Arsenal, but he wanted to play where he would be happy:
“It was big money that I gave up [to leave Arsenal],” he added. “But sometimes money is not the most important thing in life. I think you need to be happy, get pleasure every day waking up in the morning to go to train. I wasn’t having that.
“So I said to myself, with my family, I cannot stay here, I am not happy here. I have to leave, find a way out, leave the club, because if I stay I am going to stay the same. For me, it’s unfair to stay in a place that you don’t want to stay just because of the money. For me, it was that.”
For a manager like Mikel Arteta who prioritizes winning mentality in the dressing room, it was quite obvious someone like Willian would not fit in.
